Chapter 5: THE CURRICULUM

63) Should children be taught A
Course in Miracles?

Helen herself was fond of saying about
A
Course in Miracles: "Finally, there is a spiritual system for the intellectual."
It would seem to us that the only way children could be taught the Course
is by their parents, teachers, etc., living it. As we know, children have
the burden on their young shoulders of learning a vast amount of information
related to coping with physical, psychological, and social demands within
a world of multiplicity. To try to teach them that this is a world of illusions
and dreams -- all made as an attack on God -- is to not only confound this
learning, but to confuse them about how to relate to this world. Therefore,
the wish to have a children's version of the Course misses the whole point
of the Course. What makes A Course in Miracles what it is, is the
integration of its teachings on forgiveness with its non-dualistic metaphysics.
Without that foundation you no longer have A Course in Miracles.

To be sure, it is always helpful to
teach children in words and deed that God is a loving Creator Who does
not punish His children. And there are many spiritualities that teach this
which are perfectly adaptable for children. A Course in Miracles
on the other hand, cannot be so adapted without losing its essence. However,
those adult figures who relate to children and are students of the Course
can help them undo the ego thought system that concludes with the premise
that God will punish them because of their sins. Since parents and other
authorities are the inevitable dream figures symbolizing God, they have
the capacity to reinforce either the ego's thought system of guilt and
punishment, or the Holy Spirit's thought system which corrects mistakes
through forgiveness.

Reproduced with the kind permission of Gloria and
Kenneth
Wapnick and the Foundation for A Course in Miracles®